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Black Hole TDE AT2024tvd 

A fuzzy orange-yellow oval occupies the middle fourth of the image. It extends from 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock. A bright white spot is located within the oval but offset to the upper left from the core. An additional smaller, grainy, orange disk is located at lower right. A couple of additional orange points are in the frame. The background of space is black.

This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of galaxy located 600 million light-years away that is host to the telltale signature of a roaming supermassive black hole. Visible in the Hubble image is a tidal disruption event (TDE), an intense flash of radiation caused by the supermassive black hole eating a star. The TDE appears as an isolated blue point source of ultraviolet light, while the galaxy is colored orange in visible light. The source is one of the first examples of a TDE significantly offset from the host galaxy's core by 2,600 light-years – where an even more massive active black resides. Hubble's precise angular resolution clearly shows this offset and confirms independent observations made with NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory. The photo taken on January 16, 2025 with Hubble's WFC3 detector in UV and visible light wavelengths.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    17:10:42.58
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    +28:50:15.13
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Hercules
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    About 600 million light-years
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    The image is about 25 arcseconds across (about 73,000 light-years)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.

    The Hubble observations include those from program 17894 (Y. Yao)

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    WFC3/UVIS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    16 January 2025
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F275W, F625W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    AT2024tvd
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Black Hole Tidal Disruption Event
  • Release Date
    May 8, 2025
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Hubble Pinpoints Roaming Massive Black Hole
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Science: NASA, ESA, STScI, Yuhan Yao (UC Berkeley); Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Display), 2506 × 1718
    png (3.66 MB)
  • Full Res (For Print), 2506 × 1718
    tif (3.18 MB)
  • Full Res (JPG), 2506 × 1718
    jpg (587.48 KB)
  • 2000 × 1371
    jpg (429.45 KB)
A fuzzy orange-yellow oval occupies the middle fourth of the image. It extends from 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock. A bright white spot is located within the oval but offset to the upper left from the core. An additional smaller, grainy, orange disk is located at lower right. A couple of additional orange points are in the frame. The background of space is black.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images were acquired by the WFC3 Instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to a monochromatic (grayscale) image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Cyan: F275W, Orange: F625W

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

Six-panel illustration marked "Artist's Concept." The upper left panel shows the silhouette of supermassive black that is adrift inside a galaxy. The middle upper panel shows a yellow star drifting near the black hole. The three following panels show the star being shredded in bright white concentric streamers followed by a white explosion. the bottom right panel is an external view of the galaxy showing a bright white star-like object that is the site if the explosion as viewed in X-rays and visible light.

Six panel illustration of Black Hole TDE AT2024tvd

This is a six-panel illustration of a tidal disruption event around a supermassive black hole.

This is a combined Hubble Space Telescope/ Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of distant galaxy that is host to the telltale signature of a roaming supermassive black hole. Both telescopes caught a tidal disruption event (TDE), an intense flash of radiation caused by the supermassive black hole eating a star. The TDE appears as an isolated blue-white point source of ultraviolet light, while the galaxy is colored orange in visible light. In addition, X-Ray light is captured by Chandra as a purple haze surround the TDE. Both Hubble and Chandra observations were combined to pinpoint the TDEu2019s location, which is offset from the center of the galaxy, which appears as a bright orange-white blob.

Black Hole TDE AT2024tvd (Hubble + Chandra)

This is a combined Hubble Space Telescope/Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of a distant galaxy that is host to the telltale signature of a roaming supermassive black hole.

Image titled u201cAT2024tvd, HST WFC3 + Chandra X-ray Observatoryu201d at top left with compass arrows and color key at the bottom. Below the name, filters are listed: F275W in green, F625W in orange, and X-Ray in blue. These colors indicate the visible-light color is assigned to each filter. The TDE event takes up a majority of the view. The TDE appears as an isolated blue-white point source of ultraviolet light, while the galaxy is colored orange in visible light. In addition, X-Ray light is captured by Chandra as a purple haze surround the TDE.u00a0The length of the scale bar at bottom left is about a fifth of the total width. It is labeled 11,700 light-years and 4 arcseconds. At the bottom right are compass arrows indicating the orientation of the image on the sky. The east arrow points toward 9 ou2019clock. The north arrow points toward 12 ou2019clock.

Black Hole TDE AT2024tvd Compass Image

This is a combined Hubble Space Telescope/Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of a distant galaxy that is host to the telltale signature of a roaming supermassive black hole.

This is a video animation of a tidal disruption event (TDE), an intense flash of radiation caused by the supermassive black hole eating a star. The video begins by zooming into a distant elliptical galaxy that is white located 600 million light-years away. We fly into a blizzard of stars inside the galaxy. We see the silhouette of a supermassive black hole that is only slightly visible due to the way it distorts light from background stars, through a phenomenon called gravitational lensing. A wayward star get swept up in the black holeu2019s intense gravitational pull. It is stretched like taffy and makes a white Spirograph pattern as it falls toward the black hole. There is and incredible burst of white radiation. See from afar, the TDE monetarily outshines the entire galaxy as a brilliant pinpoint of white light.

Black Hole Tidal Disruption Event

This is a video animation of a tidal disruption event (TDE), an intense flash of radiation caused by the supermassive black hole eating a star. The video begins by zooming into a galaxy located 600 million light-years away.

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Details

Last Updated
May 08, 2025
Location
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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